Chess Time Control Calculator

How to work out how long a chess game lasts

1. 1

   Type the time control, or pick one of the common ones.

2. 2

   Check the line under the box: it says how the control was read.

3. 3

   Set the number of moves for the longest game. 60 moves cover about 85% of classical games.

4. 4

   Read the longest and the typical length, each player's time and the categories.

Frequently asked questions

How long does a 90+30 chess game last?

Each player has 90 minutes plus 30 seconds a move, so a 60-move game can take up to 4 hours on the two clocks together, and a 41-move game up to about 3 hours 41 minutes. In the over-the-board games we measured, the median game at 90+30 took 3 hours 3 minutes.

Is 15+10 rapid or blitz?

Rapid. FIDE counts the base time plus 60 times the increment: 15 minutes plus 60 × 10 seconds is 25 minutes, which is more than 10 and less than 60. Blitz is 10 minutes or less, so 3+2 (5 minutes) and 5+3 (8 minutes) are blitz.

What does 90/40+30+30 mean?

90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 more minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds added for every move from move 1. It is the classical control of many FIDE-rated events. Some write 40/90 instead of 90/40; the calculator takes the larger number as the minutes.

Why do FIDE and Lichess class the same control differently?

They count the increment differently. FIDE adds 60 increments to the base time, Lichess and Chess.com add 40. So 10+0 is blitz for FIDE (10 minutes or less) but rapid on Lichess and Chess.com.

Is 2|1 bullet or blitz on Chess.com?

Bullet. Chess.com estimates each player’s time as the base minutes plus 40 times the increment in seconds, so 2|1 comes to 2 min 40 s, short of the 3 minutes where blitz begins. Its Help Center puts bullet under 3 minutes, blitz from 3 to under 10 and rapid at 10 or more: 1|0 is bullet, 3|0, 5|0 and 4|4 are blitz, and 10|0, 2|12 and 15|10 are rapid. Daily chess, played in days per move, is a separate category.

How is a delay counted?

A delay, as in G/90;d5, gives a few seconds each move before the clock starts running. Unused delay is not added to the clock, so the longest possible game is the same as with an equal increment, and the calculator counts it like one for the categories.